Press release - 12/09/2024 Power-to-vitamins: microbes produce folate from simple basic ingredients Biotechnology team at University of Tübingen obtains valuable byproduct in protein production. This could be a potential to the contribution of feeding a growing world population without livestock farming.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/power-vitamins-microbes-produce-folate-simple-basic-ingredients
Press release - 13/04/2022 Emmy Noether funding for research into drug resistance of blood cancer The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is funding a new Emmy Noether junior research group at the DKFZ for six years with a total of around 2 million euros. The scientists and doctors, who are part of the Clinical Cooperation Unit for Pediatric Leukemia at the KiTZ, are using a new procedure to investigate how cancer cells manipulate the formation of proteins to become resistant to cancer drugs.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/emmy-noether-funding-research-drug-resistance-blood-cancer
Press release - 13/07/2021 Breakthrough in research on age-related macular degenerationtion Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the commonest cause of blindness in developed countries affecting seven million in total in Germany, from which 500,000 people are suffering from late stage disease, around half of whom are registered as visually impaired. There are two forms of AMD, ‘wet’ and ‘dry’. There are currently no treatments available for the dry form of the disease (geographic atrophy).https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/breakthrough-research-age-related-macular-degenerationtion
Press release - 01/03/2024 Using Data to Improve Understanding of Relationships between Proteins and Diseases Working with a new Emmy Noether Group, Dr. Pascal Schlosser is investigating how machine learning can aid in understanding the complex relationships between genes, proteins, and diseases.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/using-data-improve-understanding-relationships-between-proteins-and-diseases
Press release - 02/11/2022 The guardian of the (epi-)genome Toxicologists from the University of Konstanz have found that the protein p53 continuously protects our cells from tumorigenesis by coordinating important metabolic processes that stabilize their genomes.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/guardian-epi-genome
Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH - 22/09/2022 The great potential of blood-based microRNA analyses "The early bird catches the worm", is an apt description of what motivates Hummingbird Diagnostics GmbH from Heidelberg. The medium-sized biotechnology company analyses special biomarkers in blood, so-called microRNAs, in order to diagnose diseases at an early stage and to be able to make forecasts about the course of the disease and the success of therapy.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/great-potential-blood-based-microrna-analyses
Press release - 31/08/2022 Using nanopores to detect epigenetic changes faster Changes known as epigenetic modifications play an important role in cancer development, among other things. Being able to analyze them quickly and reliably could, for example, contribute significantly to the further development of personalized therapy.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/using-nanopores-detect-epigenetic-changes-faster
Press release - 03/06/2022 Deep Learning helps improve gene therapies and antiviral drugs The nuclease Cas13b associated with the CRISPR gene scissors, which is an enzyme that degrades nucleic acids, has the potential to be used in the future in hereditary diseases to switch off unwanted genes. In the fight against infections, this nuclease is also being researched as an antiviral agent, as Cas13b can specifically intervene in the genetic material of viruses and render them harmless.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/deep-learning-helps-improve-gene-therapies-and-antiviral-drugs
Press release - 21/09/2023 Mutation-specific peptide vaccine against midline gliomas used in patients for the first time Tumor vaccines can help the body fight cancer. These vaccines alert the patient's immune system to proteins that are harbouring cancer-typical alterations. Physicians and cancer researchers from Heidelberg and Mannheim have now treated adult patients with advanced midline gliomas, difficult-to-treat brain tumors, with a peptide vaccine for the first time.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/mutation-specific-peptide-vaccine-against-midline-gliomas-used-patients-first-time
Dossier - 09/02/2015 Chemical tools for biological applications The boundaries between traditional scientific disciplines are becoming less and less distinct. Interdisciplinary cooperation is often required to study complex processes and biomolecular issues. Interdisciplinary cooperation is central to chemical biology. https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/chemical-tools-for-biological-applications
Press release - 22/08/2024 Validated targets for personalized cancer immunotherapy Knowledge of the target structures for the immune cells is a basic prerequisite for the development of personalized cancer immunotherapies. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center and the NCT Heidelberg are publishing a sensitive method based on mass spectroscopy to identify such tumor-specific "neoepitopes". The analytical method is designed to detect these low abundance protein fragments and requires minimal amounts of…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/validated-targets-personalized-cancer-immunotherapy
Press release - 21/09/2021 Antibiotic levels measurable in breath for first time A team of engineers and biotechnologists at the University of Freiburg has for the first time shown in mammals that the concentration of antibiotics in the body can be determined using breath samples. The breath measurements also corresponded to the antibiotic concentrations in the blood. The team’s biosensor – a multiplex chip – will in future enable personalized dosing of medicines against infectious diseases on-site.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/antibiotic-levels-measurable-breath-first-time
Press release - 25/04/2022 Reprogrammed macrophages promote spread of breast cancer Metastatic breast cancer cells abuse macrophages, a type of immune cell, to promote the settlement of cancer metastases in the lungs. The reprogrammed macrophages stimulate blood vessel cells to secrete a cocktail of metastasis-promoting proteins that are part of the so-called metastatic niche.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/reprogrammed-macrophages-promote-spread-breast-cancer
Neurodegenerative diseases - 12/12/2022 Blood-based biomarkers allow the early prediction of Alzheimer's risks Most dementia diseases develop insidiously and are only detected at an advanced stage. Researchers at the University of Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now identified the glial fibre acidic protein (GFAP) in the blood as a promising biomarker that can be used to determine an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease up to 17 years before diagnosis.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/blood-based-biomarkers-allow-early-prediction-alzheimers-risks
Press release - 25/01/2021 Protein anchors as a newly discovered key molecule in cancer spread and epilepsy Certain anchor proteins inhibit a key metabolic driver that plays an important role in cancer and developmental brain disorders. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the University of Innsbruck, together with a Europe-wide research network, discovered this molecular mechanism, which could open up new opportunities for personalized therapies for cancer and neuronal diseases. They published their results in the journal Cell.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/protein-anchors-newly-discovered-key-molecule-cancer-spread-and-epilepsy
Press release - 29/06/2022 RNA modifications in mitochondria promote invasive spread of cancer Mitochondria are the power plants of cells, and they contain their own genetic material and RNA molecules. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have now discovered that certain modifications in mitochondrial RNA boost the invasive spread of cancer cells by supporting protein synthesis in mitochondria.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/rna-modifications-mitochondria-promote-invasive-spread-cancer
Dossier - 20/01/2014 Optogenetics switching cell activity on and off with light What still sounds like science fiction to the general public has long been within reach for many years scientists have been able to manipulate neural activity selectively with light. They use different wavelengths to turn cells on and off as if they were a standard switch. Optogenetics is an emerging technology that combines optics and genetics. The technology is already used in many different ways for many different purposes by numerous research…https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/optogenetics-switching-cell-activity-on-and-off-with-light
Press release - 13/12/2024 Schizophrenia: NMI observes processes in nerve cells Up to now, schizophrenia has mainly been treated symptomatically, as little is known about the exact underlying processes. Researchers at the NMI Natural and Medical Sciences Institute in Reutlingen have succeeded in gaining a better understanding of the driving mechanisms of the disease. This offers opportunities for the development of new drugs. They have published their findings in the journal BMC Psychiatry.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/schizophrenia-nmi-observes-processes-nerve-cells
Press release - 24/02/2021 Supposedly "silent" mutation with serious consequences So-called silent mutations have no effect on the composition of a protein. They are therefore not considered to promote cancer. However, scientists from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), partner site Essen, now describe in a case of kidney cancer an overlooked silent mutation with a major impact on prognosis.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/supposedly-silent-mutation-serious-consequences
Press release - 20/12/2022 New approach prevents rejection of transplanted organs Inhibition of a protein complex in cells of the immune system prevents rejection of transplanted organs – this has been shown in a study by immunologists from the University of Konstanz, the Biotechnology Institute Thurgau (BITg) and Chongqing Cancer University Hospital.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-approach-prevents-rejection-transplanted-organs
Press release - 22/02/2024 A new approach to recording cellular activities In living cells, a vast number of transient events occur simultaneously. The recording of these activities is a prerequisite for a molecular understanding of life. Scientists at the MPI for Medical Research in Heidelberg and their collaboration partners have created a novel technology that allows cellular events to be recorded through chemical labeling with fluorescent dyes for later analysis, opening up new ways to study cellular physiology.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/new-approach-recording-cellular-activities
Dossier - 13/05/2013 The human proteome the next major goal The “Human Proteome Project”, a ten-year global initiative that is making a systematic effort to map all human proteins, has moved from the planning to the experimental stage. How significant and how effective the project will be depends on how much the resources offered are used by proteome researchers and on the data that the researchers bring into the project.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/dossier/the-human-proteome-the-next-major-goal
Gene regulation - 20/07/2021 The many faces of the epigenetic regulator MOF Epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in coordinated gene transcription, and are required for a fertilised egg cell to be able to develop into an organism with different cell types. Dr. Asifa Akhtar from the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg has been studying the essential epigenetic regulator protein MOF for 20 years.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/die-vielen-gesichter-des-epigenetischen-regulators-mof
Optimised peptides against infections and cancer - 07/10/2021 New bioactive ingredients from the peptidome treasure chest Peptides are increasingly coming into scientific focus for application in diagnostics and therapy. The human body is full of these protein fragments, but only a fraction have been characterised. So there is enormous potential for discovering new biologically active substances that can help in the fight against bacteria, viruses and cancer. A collaborative research centre at Ulm University Hospital is on the trail of these promising fragments.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/news/new-bioactive-ingredients-peptidome-treasure-chest
Press release - 21/09/2022 ERC funding: How to deliver gene therapies to a specific target site? With its "Proof of Concept" grants, the European Research Council ERC supports scientists in further developing the commercial potential of their research results. Nina Papavasiliou from the DKFZ is now receiving the prestigious grant for the second time: she wants to advance the development of a "molecular delivery service" that ensures that therapeutic genes reach the right address in the body in a targeted manner.https://www.gesundheitsindustrie-bw.de/en/article/press-release/erc-funding-how-deliver-gene-therapies-specific-target-site